Says current policy 'strikes a balance between the interests of unions, employers and employees’
The Nova Scotia Labour Board has rejected a move by the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE) to carve out trades and maintenance workers from an existing bargaining unit at the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE).
In a decision dated Jan. 16, 2026, the Board dismissed NSUPE’s application to amend Local 2 to exclude about 47 trades and maintenance employees from a unit of roughly 640 workers that includes both custodial and trades classifications. As a result, a companion certification application seeking to establish a new trades-only bargaining unit was also dismissed.
The Board confirmed it would not depart from its longstanding policy that strongly disfavours fragmenting existing bargaining units unless compelling reasons are shown.
“The Board was not persuaded that it should change its longstanding policy which requires compelling evidence to justify fragmenting existing bargaining units,” wrote Chair Jasmine Walsh. “The current policy strikes a balance between the interests of unions, employers and employees which serves the goal of achieving sound labour relations.”
Board looks at existing relationship in union
The panel placed considerable weight on the stability and functionality of the existing relationship between NSUPE Local 2 and HRCE. Since the amalgamation of predecessor school boards, the parties have negotiated eight collective agreements, and the last work stoppage was in 2001. Trades and maintenance employees have held multiple positions on the Local 2 executive and bargaining committees, and there have been no duty of fair representation complaints by trades workers.
Recent bargaining outcomes for trades and maintenance staff also undercut the case for a split. In negotiations for the 2021–2024 collective agreement, a province-wide wage harmonisation exercise resulted in trades employees receiving the general increase plus an additional one dollar per hour. The Board highlighted this, along with new contract language restricting employer use of surveillance such as GPS in vehicles without reasonable cause, as “notable wins” for trades and maintenance workers within the existing structure.
Previously, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board ordered remedial certification of a union at a hotel establishment after finding the employer committed multiple unfair labour practices during a housekeeping union organising drive.
Community of interest, strong worker support
NSUPE argued that trades and maintenance staff had distinct interests in wages, scheduling and professional identity that warranted a separate unit. HRCE countered that both groups shared a meaningful community of interest around the maintenance and operation of school facilities.
The Board accepted HRCE’s evidence that, while custodial and trades employees often work separately, their functions are operationally integrated through work orders, building access and on-site coordination.
“The custodial and trades/maintenance employees do not work shoulder-to-shoulder on projects, but their work is integrated,” Walsh wrote, noting that all members of the unit are concerned with the care and maintenance of HRCE schools and other facilities.
The Board also held there was insufficient evidence of a lack of community of interest to override the strong presumption in favour of maintaining the existing unit.
It also acknowledged there was significant support among trades and maintenance employees for forming a separate unit. An internal vote saw 37 of 39 trades and maintenance workers favour separation, and an electronic vote of the full Local 2 membership produced 250 votes (82 per cent of those voting) in support of a split.
However, the panel held that these preferences could not be determinative on their own.
“Union and employee wishes, although critically important, cannot be exclusively or disproportionately determinative of whether structure changes to existing, stable labour relationships are called for,” Walsh stated.
Organised labour seems to be putting financial pressure on employers, as unionized workers are gaining pay increases unseen from non-unionized employees, according to a previous report.
Limited use of existing processes
Under its framework, the Nova Scotia Labour Board requires a subgroup seeking separation to show diligent but unsuccessful efforts to advance its interests through existing bargaining, grievance and labour–management processes. On the evidence, the Board found this threshold was not met. Trades concerns about uniforms and evening shifts had been raised informally with a supervisor, but not advanced as bargaining proposals or formal labour–management items; trades employees had not been assigned evening shifts for about eight years.
The Board also rejected NSUPE’s argument that employer cost and administrative convenience are irrelevant. Citing the Trade Union Act’s preamble, Walsh wrote that the Board “must bear consideration” of employer interests when assessing proposed changes to bargaining unit structures. Evidence from HRCE indicated adding a fifth bargaining unit would increase bargaining and administration time and expense, even if it would not “break the bank.”
